Imperium

Chapter 9: It'll Be Fine

Fallen branches and leaves crackle beneath the tires of the Cadillac as Colin slowly maneuvers his way through the forest. They've been moving in the same direction for about an hour already, driving through nothing but an empty forest. The sun is already starting to go down, making Colin grow more anxious about getting lost in the dark.

Meanwhile J doesn't have a care in the world as she sits in the passenger seat, belting out the lyrics to 'What is Love' by Haddaway, even though the song playing on the radio is 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love' by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers. At this point, he doesn't bother questioning her. He just wants to help Edith and be on their way.

To keep himself from getting too angry, he just tries to imagine J as Data, since they're actually kinda similar in a terrifying kind of way. That gives him some small bit of comfort, despite having never been able to hold a conversation with Data before she got him so flustered that he would ask Edith to save him. J is sort of like that, only with superpowers to make things seem real that aren't.

He scans his eyes over the forest as he keeps driving, thinking he might be getting the hang of it so long as he keeps going slow. He still sees nothing, which is probably the most irritating thing about this whole thing. J said it wouldn't take too long to get there, and yet nothing has come up since they started driving.

"Are you sure this is the way?" Colin asks, turning down the volume on the radio which doesn't get J to lower her voice one fraction of a decibel and she doesn't hear him.

He sighs and taps her shoulder. "J."

"BABY DON'T HURT ME, DON'T HURT ME! NO MORE!" she turns and sees his deadpan face, instantly shutting her mouth and tilting her head. "Huh, what?" she asks.

Colin turns his attention forward again so as to not crash because he tried to understand J while driving. "I asked if you're sure this is the right way. It seems like we're not getting anywhere and at this point, I'm starting to think you might be trying to lead me into a trap or something," he mumbles.

J laughs and pats his shoulder. "Nah, you can trust good ol' J—"

"I don't," Colin deadpans. "I'm fully expecting you to double-cross me at the end of this."

She huffs and snatches the fedora off his head, placing it atop her top hat. "Come on, I'm not a bad guy. I'm just chaotic enough to cause you trouble," she smiles sweetly and bats her eyelashes, but he just flashes her an unconvinced glare which gets her to roll her eyes. "Look, do you wanna get help for sugartits back there or not?" she crosses her arms.

Colin sighs for probably the millionth time since they started driving. "Of course I want to help Edith. Which is why I'm not sure if I should keep trusting your word about this supposed 'technician'," he states.

"Don't worry Loverboy, it's not too much farther," J says, then stops and looks out the windows. "Oh wait, I think you passed it."

Colin hits the breaks and lowers his head to rest on top of the steering wheel this time to not set off the horn and feels his will physically leave his body. He just wants to help Edith. That's all he wants. Why is he being punished?

J unbuckles herself and jumps up to perch in her seat. "We can walk to it from here! You carry 'Sleeping Computey' and I'll lead the way!" she says and rolls down the window on her side, diving out and landing on the forest floor. "Fuck, I think a rock went up my ass!" she growls and stands up.

Colin takes a deep breath in and closes his eyes, sitting up straight and letting himself relax. "Deep breath in..." he mentally counts to three, "and out..." he repeats the process until he feels calm enough to keep going. Now having a mind means he can finally use those meditation techniques that Peace was teaching CLive about.